Arsenal hero Thierry Henry was very quickly made to regret his comments on Gunners midfielder Granit Xhaka following the 2-0 defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven.
The Swiss has earned plenty of plaudits this term - and justifiably so. The former Borussia Monchengladbach destroyer has been a far calmer presence in the heart of the Arsenal midfield this season and has been a huge reason behind the North Londoners’ electric start to the campaign.
It has certainly been a dramatic turnaround for Xhaka at the Emirates Stadium having only a few seasons ago been stripped of the Arsenal captaincy following his reaction to Gunners’ fans following an infamous substitution.
Even Arsenal's record goalscorer Henry waxed lyrical regarding Xhaka's renaissance ahead of the Gunners' trip to Eindhoven and praised him for his hugely impressive turnaround.
Speaking to CBS Sports, the Frenchman said: "Now, Xhaka is better, why? Because he doesn't make the mistakes he used to in front of the defence and he plays higher. And he scores goals now, why? Because he is more often in the box.”
Despite the Gunners icon's praise, Xhaka happened to cost his team with a petulant booking against PSV. Having been selected in the starting line-up, the 30-year-old attempted to push Dutch youngster Xavi Simons off of the pitch following his substitution - the former PSG and Barcelona youngster instead preferring to take a slow stroll to the sidelines with his side already 2-0 up.
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The booking now means that Xhaka is set to miss out on next week’s clash with FC Zurich due to suspension having already been awarded three yellow cards in European action so far this season.
That could potentially come back to bite Arsenal who head into that clash in somewhat of a tricky position. Mikel Arteta's men must either match or better PSV’s result against Bodo/Glimt in order to guarantee top spot in the group.
Should they finish second come the end of the group stages then they will head into a play-off with an eliminated team from the Champions League as they attempt to plot a route through to the knockout round.
Among those contenders could potentially be the likes of Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Ajax, Juventus and Europa League experts Sevilla so it will not be an easy assignment at all for the Gunners.
It goes without saying then that Arsenal will be aiming to avoid that fate but they will have to do that without one of their most reliable performers of the campaign thus far.
Whilst it is certainly too early to suggest whether the previously petulant Xhaka is on his way back, the Swiss has certainly made Henry look slightly silly for his comments just a matter of hours before his card against PSV.
